Reconfiguring hydrogel assemblies using a photocontrolled metallopolymer adhesive for multiple customized functions

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels with programmable shape changes are promising materials for soft robots, four-dimensional printing, biomedical devices and artificial intelligence systems. However, these applications require the fabrication of hydrogels with complex, heterogeneous and reconfigurable structures and customizable functions. Here we report the fabrication of hydrogel assemblies with these features by reversibly gluing hydrogel units using a photocontrolled metallopolymer adhesive. The metallopolymer adhesive firmly attached individual hydrogel units via metal-ligand coordination and polymer chain entanglement. Hydrogel assemblies containing temperature- and pH-responsive hydrogel units showed…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 52120105004, 52073268, 2021013
• UO
  University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
• UO
  University of Science and Technology of China
• NS
  Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province

  Award: 1908085MB38
• FR
  Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

  Awards: WK3450000006, WK2060190102